Method and apparatus for electrifying pile fabrics

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure is directed to a machine and method in which a pile fabric carried on the surface of a large rotating drum is submitted to the electrifying action of several rotating cylinders placed in a planetary arrangement around the large cloth-carrying cylinder. The rotation of the planetary cylinders is varied (some clockwise, others counter-clockwise) so that in one pass of the fabric through the electrifying machine some of the electrifying cylinders throw the pile fibers forward (in the direction of movement of the fabric) while other electrifying cylinders throw the pile fibers in the opposite direction. In order to provide lateral oscillatory motion to the fibers, each planetary cylinder has a spiral groove on its surface and the direction of this spiral alternates for successive planetary cylinders. Preferably, each planetary cylinder has, on its surface, two (or more) spiral grooves and the two grooves are &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;wound&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; in opposite directions. When the pitch of each (oppositely wound) spiral on a cylinder is great enough, the spirals will cross each other at one or more points. (Cross-over points can cause streaks on the surface of the pile fabric.) In this invention the spirals are arranged so that the cross-over points occur at different positions along the length of each planetary cylinder on the electrifying machine and the last one to three cylinders are designed to have no cross-over points.

Fri shman v 14 July 9," 1974 [541v METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR ELECTRIFYING PILE FABRICS [76] Inventor: Daniel Fris'hman, 14 Castle Heights Rd., Andover, Mass. 0l8l0 22] Filed: July 24,1972

21 Appl. N6; 274,636

[52] U.S. Cl. 26/2 E, 26/27 Primary Examiner--Robert R. Mackey Attorney, Agent, or FirmWilkinson, Mawhinney &

Theibault I 57 ABSTRACT The present disclosure is directed to a machine and method in which a pile fabric carried on the surface of a large rotating drum is submitted to the electrifying action of several rotating cylinders placed in a planetary arrangement around the large cloth-carrying cylinder. The rotation of the planetary cylinders is varied (some clockwise, others counter-clockwise) so that in one pass of the fabric through the electrifying machine some of the electrifying cylinders throw the pile fibers forward (in the direction of movement of the fabric) while other electrifying cylinders throw the pile fibers in the opposite direction. In order to" provide lateral oscillatory motion to the fibers, each planetary cylinder has a spiral groove on its'surface and the direction of this spiral alternates for successive planetary cylinders. Preferably, each planetary cylinder has, on its surface, two (or more) spiral grooves and the two grooves are wound in opposite directions. When the pitch of each (oppositely wound) spiral on a cylinder is great enough, the. spirals will cross each other at one or more points. (Cross-over points can cause streaks on'the surface of the pile fabric.) In this invention the spirals are arranged so that the cross-over points occur at different positions along the length of each planetary cylinder on the electrifying machine and the last one to three cylindersare designed to have no crossover-points.

7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED L 9 I974 SHEU 1. BF 2 PATENTEDJUL firm SHEHZBFZ FIG 3 PROBLEM IN THE ART Electrifying is a critical process in the finishing of pile fabrics. This process converts a dull, clumpy surface into a lustrous smooth appearance. The process was developed many years ago forthe conversion of sheepskin (shearlings) into what is known as mouton fur. In electrifying of furs an operator places the fur skin on a platform which he raises with a foot pedal so that the fur is brought into contact with the heated rotating cylinder of the electrifying machine.

This machine, in an enlarged version, and with a device for moving the cloth continuously through the machine, is used for electrifying pile fabrics. Usually a pile fabric requires several such treatments with the pile thrown in one direction with respect to the length of the fabric and then reversed or thrown in the other directionin a subsequent treatment. Sometimes several electrifiers are placed in tandem requiring considerable floor space andinvestment in equipment.

In order to understand the advantages of the present invention'it will be necessary to explain some of the features of the conventional method of electrifying: l The conventional electrifying cylinder is to 16 inches in diameter and to accommodate the width of the fabric it is usually 72 inches in width. A cylinder of this mass is difficult to heat uniformly but this is essential in order to obtain uniform processing of the pile fabric. (2) In order to increase the area of th fabric in contact with the electrifying cylinder (and the efficiency of the process), the pile fabric is usually slightly wrapped around the lower. portion of the cylinder. In this condition the tips of the pilefibers are brought close together and the resulting compact surface makes it difficult to control the depth to which electrifying penetrates into the pile. (3) Diagonal or spiral grooves on the surface of the electrifying cylinder cause the fibers to be thrown from side to side, which further enhances the electrifying process. The angles of the (separate) spiral grooves, with respect to the long axis of the cylinder, alternate from a clockwise to a counter clockwise direction. Thus, if one does not wish the grooves to cross-over each other the angle of deviation from the long axis of the cylinder must be very slight. On the other hand a larger angle is advantageous as it results in improved electrification. But the cross-over points cause marks (streaks) on the surface of the pile fabric.

An object of the present invention is to provide a machine having many planetary electrifying cylinders placed around one large fabriccarrying cylinder. Thus 2 described above on the conventional electrifying machine). I

A still further object of the present invention is that by alternating the direction of rotation of successive planetary electrifying cylinders the pile can be alternately thrown forward and backwards. On the other hand, in order to obtain special effects or optimum results with certain types of special fabrics it is a simple matter to control the direction of rotation of any one cylinder. For example, for certain types of fabrics it would be advantageous to have the first four electrifying cylinders alternating in their direction of rotation but then the last four cylinders could all'be moving in the same direction and this would result in a laid down finish.

Another object of the invention is the provision that the spiral grooves on the electrifying cylinders-(in one machine) vary with respect to position and/or pitch so In the drawings in which like parts are denoted by reference characters throughout the several views:

on one electrifying machine the fabric can receive sev- FIG. 1 is a schematic view of one form of electrifying machine which employs less than one-half the circumference of the large cloth-carrying cylinder for the electrifying process. I

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 in which the electrifying surface of the cloth-carrying cylinder is increased to electrify more pile fabric per revolution of the cloth cylinder. FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of three forms of electrifying cylinders each having a different pitch on the surface projections which work on fabric'being electrified.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view with parts broken away of a schematic of the machine of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross section of an electrifying roll showing a direct heating unit therein. v

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a

large cloth carrying cylinder 10 rotates on its axis so cylinders 12 are in the range of 60-84 inches; this variable has broad limits.

In the event of a stoppage, the pile fabric 11 .is

promptly removed from contact with the electrifyingcylinders 12 by one of the following mechanism: (a) As shown in FIG. 1 the large cylinder 10 with the cloth 1].

the pile of the on it is moved away from the electrifying cylinders 12. This is done by an appropriate electrical and/or pneumatic device 20. (b) The electrifying cylinders 12 are moved away by electrical and/or pneumatic cylinders 13 as shown in FIG. 2.

In the machine designed as in FIG. 2 i.e., the electrifying cylinders 12 move away from the fabric 11 permitting a large number of planetary cylinders 12 to be placed around the large cylinder 10 which further increases the efficiency of the process by providing either more electrifying action or by allowing greater fabric speeds.

It is advantageous to be able to adjust each planetary cylinder 12 separately with respect to its distance from the large cylinder 10. In this way the depth of penetration into the pile of the pile fabric can be set at an optimum level for each stage in the process. For example,

in a machine with 10 electrifying cylinders, the first.

four can be set to penetrate deeply into the pile, the next three at an intermediate level and the last three for final surface polishing. The individual cylinders are adjustable by rotating the threaded couplings 13A on FIG. 2. In conjunction with this, the grooves on the planetary cylinders 12 are made so that the optimum type of groove is used for the depth of setting.

Planetary cylinders 12 vary in diameter from 3-10 inches, partly depending on the size of the large cylinder 10 and the number of electrifying cylinders one wishes to use. The rotational speed of the planetary cylinders is in the range of 300 to 2,000 rpm with the cylinders driven by directly coupled electric motors or through appropriate belts and pulleys.

Heating of the planetary cylinders 12 may be accomplished by electrical heating units which are placed in the cylinders such as shown and described in US. Pat. No. 3,119,603 and shown in FIG. as 12H or several radiant-heat devices 21 e.g., Calrod Units or GE Quartz Tube Heaters may be placed in an arc within 3-12 inches of the planetary cylinders as shown in the drawings. In order to prevent the radiant energy from passing between the cylinders and impinging upon the fabric, narrow shields such as the narrow ducts of a vacuum are appropriately placed between the cylinders which also serve to remove loose fibers.

Appropriately positioned thermocouples in the planetary cylinders 12 and suitable temperature control devices are used in order to have precise control of the electrifying temperature such as shown and described in US. Pat. No. 3,119,603.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, pile fabric guide rolls l4 and 15 maintain the pile fabric 11 in contact with the large cylinder and a spray 16 deposits either water, or aqueous alcoholic solutions, or solutions of textile softeners, silicones, or other solutions on the pile which is about to be electrified. A vacuum or exhaust system the spirals at different positions with respect to one end of the cylinder. It is desirable to have the last 1-3 cylinders with spirals which do not cross over as shown at 12A in FIG..3.

In a case where 10 electrifying cylinders are on one machine, cylinders l-7 would be of the type shown in 12B (except that the cut would be displaced) and cylinders 8-10 would be of the type shown in 12A. Alternatively 3 cylinders could be of type 128, 4 of type 12C and 3 of type 12A, the types of which are shown in FIG. 3

The embodiment depicted in FIG. 1 has provision for removing the large cylinder 10 from the planetary cylinders 12 such as by a pneumatic device. This is made possible by the fact that the ring of planetary cylinders 12 does not extend as far about the large cylinder 10 as occurs in FIG. 2. Devices to remove the electrifying cylinders from the large cylinder as in FIG. 2 can be incorporated in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, allowing for combined action of the two methods of fabric removal.

What I claim'is:

1. An apparatus for electrifying pile fabrics comprising:

a. a large cylinder over which a continuous length of pile fabric is passed with the pile side exposed,

b. electrifying cylinders over at least one third of the length of the circumference of the large cylinder and being positioned in electrifying relationship to the pile of the fabric,

0. means operatively associated with said electrifying cylinders to heat same,

d. said electrifying cylinders being driven to throw the pile of the fabric forwards and backwards to eliminate lengthwise streaks on the fabric, the initial cylinders of the series of electrifying cylinders having spiral grooves which crossover at varying crossover points, and

e. a final series of electrifying cylinders having grooves with no crossovers.

2. An apparatus for electrifying pile fabrics as claimed in claim 1 wherein said electrifying cylinders extend about 35 to percent of the length of the circumference of the large pile fabric carrying cylinder.

17 having heads 18 tends to raise the pile and remove any one electrifying machine. This is easily accomplished, even with the same spiral angle by starting 3. An apparatus for electrifying pile fabrics as claimed in claim 1 wherein said electrifying cylinders extend around the pile fabric carrying cylinder in excess of 50 percent of the length of the circumference of the large pile fabric carrying cylinder.

4. An apparatus for electrifying pile fabrics as claimed in claim 1 wherein the last one to three electrifying cylinders have grooves of low pitch with no crossover points.

5. An apparatus for electrifying pile fabrics as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means associated with said electrifying cylinders to heat same is a source of indirectly applied heat.

6. An apparatus for electrifying pile fabrics as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means associated with said electrifying cylinders to heat same is a source of heat directly applied to said rolls.

7. The method of electrifying pile fabrics comprising:

a. passing a continuous length of pile fabric over a large cylinder with the pile side exposed,

6 fabric by providing the initial cylinders of the series of electrifying cylinders with spiral grooves which crossover, varying the crossover of the spiral grooves of the cylinders and using final electrifying cylinders of the series with grooves which have no crossovers. 

1. An apparatus for electrifying pile fabrics comprising: a. a large cylinder over which a continuous length of pile fabric is passed with the pile side exposed, b. electrifying cylinders over at least one third of the length of the circumference of the large cylinder and being positioned in electrifying relationship to the pile of the fabric, c. means operatively associated with said electrifying cylinders to heat same, d. said electrifying cylinders being driven to throw the pile of the fabric forwards and backwards to eliminate lengthwise streaks on the fabric, the initial cylinders of the series of electrifying cylinders having spiral grooves which crossover at varying crossover points, and e. a final series of electrifying cylinders having grooves with no crossovers.
 2. An apparatus for electrifying pile fabrics as claimed in claim 1 wherein said electrifying cylinders extend about 35 to 50 percent of the length of the circumference of the large pile fabric carrying cylinder.
 3. An apparatus for electrifying pile fabrics as claimed in claim 1 wherein said electrifying cylinders extend around the pile fabric carrying cylinder in excess of 50 percent of the length of the circumference of the large pile fabric carrying cylinder.
 4. An apparatus for electrifying pile fabrics as claimed in claim 1 wherein the last one to three electrifying cylinders have grooves of low pitch with no cross-over points.
 5. An apparatus for electrifying pile fabrics as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means associated with said electrifying cylinders to heat same is a source of indirectly applied heat.
 6. An apparatus for electrifying pile fabrics as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means associated with said electrifying cylinders to heat same is a source of heat directly applied to said rolls.
 7. The method of electrifying pile fabrics comprising: a. passing a continuous length of pile fabric over a large cylinder with the pile side exposed, b. electrifying the pile of the fabric by electrifying cylinders over at least one third of the length of the circumference of the large cylinder, c. heating the pile of the fabric during electrifying of the same, d. alternating the direction of electrifying of the pile to throw the same forwards and backwards to eliminate the possibility of lengthwise streaks on the fabric by providing the initial cylinders of the series of electrifying cylinders with spiral grooves which crossover, varying the crossover of the spiral grooves of the cylinders and using final electrifying cylinders of the series with grooVes which have no crossovers. 